


Collar for Chaos

by HoneyEmrys



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, At least in form, Bill Cipher is Trying, Bill Cipher is a Jerk, Confused Dipper Pines, Demon Bill Cipher, Dipper is tired, F/F, Fluff, Human Bill Cipher, M/M, Minor Character Death, Not Beta Read, Obsession, Older Dipper Pines, Possessive Bill Cipher, Romance, Sorcerer Dipper, Straight from the draft, Witchcraft, for the sake of plot, minor world building, some Fluff later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:48:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26210662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoneyEmrys/pseuds/HoneyEmrys
Summary: There's a fine line between Wizards, Magi, Sorcerers, and Warlocks. The difference is that Wizards learn magic, Magi have faith in magic, Sorcerers are gifted magic, and Warlocks make deals for magic.Dipper and Mabel Pines are Sorcerers, born with magic due to the rare Divine coincidence called the Bonding where the other halves of their souls will encounter them in their lifetime.It isn't really easy for Dipper, who doesn't like the idea of this entire thing.Especially not if it was revealed to him that he was actually a warlock all along, born to deal with a stupid, powerful, hot demon owning the name Bill Cipher."Don't blame me that your creator is a Divine Pain in the ass-- I'm the victim here!"
Relationships: Bill Cipher/Dipper Pines, Pacifica Northwest/Mabel Pines
Comments: 8
Kudos: 59





	1. Pleasant Turn of Events

**Author's Note:**

> [this is a rewrite of the older Collar for Chaos] 
> 
> For those who were old readers of the previous version, the major changes to plot begins at chapter three. Chapter one is only a change in wording, chapter two is a change of scenario (but the purpose of the chapter of the plot is the same), chapter three (which will be posted eventually) is where it completely deviates. I apologize for those who were looking forward to the old version of Collar for Chaos. I was just unhappy with the way it was ;u;

Magic is a constant in the world. It is present in everything and more, like in the air that you breathe or in the bed that you sleep on. It is as omnipresent as light and darkness, and is the spine of the world that humans live in. Everything in the world is but a mere fibre in the tapestry that is the Universe. Quite literally. The world, in a way, can be perceived as fibres that can be manipulated to an extent. It is an artwork, a family tapestry that anyone with the ability to weave can contribute to.

It is the manipulation of these threads that is Magic.

With this, it is only normal that humans would study this, would embrace it as if their entire lives circulate around it. 

This was true in a sense. Their entire lives certainly do come from magic, thus enters the freedom of a human to choose what they do about it.

There are many names for those who dwell in the knowledge of something seemingly unreal, though that does not mean that they are all one the same. A common misconception when it comes to Mages, Wizards, Sorcerers, Magi, and Warlocks is that they are all the same. That is incorrect; for one, it’s similar to seeing a pig and calling it a chicken.

A Mage is mostly an umbrella term for all of those who have to do with magic, making it easier for anyone to generalize each magic user.

To clarify, Wizards are practitioners of magic. They are only able to wield such powers due to rigorous training and wonderful minds, and were never granted their magic. Their understanding of Magic stems mostly on logic and theories about how such a mysterious part of their lives work. Wizards are able to wield something if they understand it, the same way a person may do various things if they were to understand how basic Arithmetic works. In a figurative sense, if Magic was being compared to weaving, they see magic as a pattern-- they weave along the book and cannot stray further from instruction.

Magi are similar, but they have a more religious and abstract understanding of magic. They believe that Magic is holy, and is a gift from the creator of this world, Gaea, who had, in various religious texts, weaved the world from chaos. Their control of magic is as the way that they let the world control them. Magic is the relationship of Gaea’s creation, and their faith.

Warlocks are the most unspoken of them all. They are the enemies of most, abhorred by the Magi. They dwell in dangerous waters, making deals in the dark in search of power. To gain control of Magic, they find themselves dealing with the creatures of the night, the unholy of the world. Their source of power does not come from the creation of the world Gaia made, rather it comes from its unravelling. 

The Pines family name was directly associated with multiple practitioners of magic, most of them being Wizards among all else. Their etiquette with magic was loose, and while they were mostly creative and smart with their experiments with spells, it’s nearly unheard of that they were to be anything else-- nor would they ever dare to be a Warlock.

So when the news came around the small family that not one, but _two_ of the newborn additions to their clan were Sorcerers they were all overjoyed. The twins hadn’t understood _why_ at first, but when they did find out they were overcome with a feeling of utter glee and dread.

Sorcerers were special. They were distinct. Revered by the Magi because they were known to be loved by Gaia so much to be gifted with a chance at attaining an incomprehensible happiness. Many people speculate on the various possible reasons why people are born with magic, and the single most common theory was that it was because their connection to Gaia is heightened due to her Divine Intervention, which came in the form of a mark. Sorcerers, like Dipper and Mabel, are born with a silhouette-like mark that matches with another person or being who are believed to be their ‘Soulmates’. 

Magic to them is akin to moving. If they move, the world moves with them. It comes as natural to them as to walking, which is why they are believed to be destined for greatness. The way the marks work is relatively simple: in the moment a person meets their destined one, colors would reveal itself on the mark. 

Mabel’s mark was an opaque, blacked out star at the center of her right palm, while Dipper’s was a faint triangle at the back of his neck, right under where his hairline ends-- he often had to use a mirror just to see it.

It is said that the souls of Sorcerers come in pairs, and it’s only a matter of time when one day they’d been born in the same world and to live at the same time. Reincarnation is widely believed in this world of magic. Everyone believes that the only way one can be a Sorcerer is when a soul comes to the world at the same time their other half does. It doesn’t mean that they have to have the same birth, it only means that they are able to share the same lifetime as each other. 

Destiny was a strange thing.

A strange thing that Dipper wanted no part of. Contrary to his sister who was overjoyed by the idea of a Soulmate, Dipper, to be completely frank, grew up losing a damn about it. It sounded nice, of course. The idea of a perfect romance with someone they were destined to be with, the idea that somewhere in the world, there was someone waiting for them to come so that they finally feel _complete_. Dipper admits that the idea is rather tantalizing, but there was something lacking to it.

It wasn’t his idea of romance at all.

He wanted to be normal. By no means were Sorcerers rare in this society, it was just that the majority tend to be overhyped with the idea. Everyone learns to fall in love; but, with the idea of Soulmates existing, it was like it was saying he had no freedom of choice in his romance. It was as if his love was something predetermined-- something inhuman. He would much prefer developing his heart on his own without just finding someone who just… fits.

Of course, no one else sees it like this. If they did, the joy of soulmates would be spoiled-- and it was true, it had been spoiled for Dipper. He didn’t like it as much as the next bloke with a mark, but that doesn’t mean that he wasn’t going to partake in it. It was the hand that he was given, and if he wasn’t going to play it, then he’d lose. 

Though it wasn’t something he’d primarily given any thought to. Even though he was a Sorcerer, it didn’t really mean that he didn’t need to _learn_ magic. He still needed the theoretics of it. He had power to wield but he needed to learn how to use it. He used this as a distraction for the past 17 years of his life, and he doesn’t plan to stop only to look for his Soulmate.

He was a quite a different Sorcerer compared to Mabel. She didn’t need that much theoretics, and she was acing every single subject in class without even studying-- except the more academic tracks. She didn’t really have interest, so she didn’t really plan on doing as well. He never really think it was unfair. Maybe Sorcerers worked just like the Magi—the more faith they have, the more potent their magic is. Mabel trusted the idea of soulmates, while Dipper didn’t. Now he had to make up for it with sheer hard work.

Dipper was perfectly capable of improving _on his own_.

That was what his Great Uncle Ford, the Archwizard of the Pines family, said when he voiced his distress to him once when he and his brother visited him for a summer when he was around 14. Just because he was a Sorcerer doesn’t mean that he can’t live like a Wizard. Besides, at the end of the day, everyone was a Mage, and Magic has the same rules for everyone.

Dipper loved his Grunkles (Short for Great Uncles) to bits. They were every bit supportive of his quest for knowledge, and they were few of those who knew and accepted his distaste for destiny. It was as if they were the ones who do truly understand him.

Not only that, but the two of them had told him and Mabel stories of where they usually stay at. Gravity Falls was a wonderful place, as Dipper believed. There were cryptids everywhere that Dipper wanted nothing more than to meet. The two Grunkles always warned him that they were dangerous, but Dipper was confident enough to know that he’d be able to handle them with ease. 

This meant that he was elated with the recent developments so far-- he and Mable were going to move to Gravity Falls (finally) with approval from his parents. They decided it would have been better, since taking apprenticeship under older, more experienced Pines was tradition in the Pines family line. They weren’t good Wizards for nothing.

“Are you excited?” Mabel had asked in the car when they had recently departed for the trip. 

“More than. Can’t you see my face? How is this face not ‘excited’?”

“I don’t know. You have a very boring face.”

He let it slide that they literally looked like each other.

Dipper hasn’t seen a single day where Mabel did not smile. Naturally, she was a very happy person. It was like she had taken most of the optimism for the both of them, which evened out Dipper’s rather problematic pessimism (it’s realism, Dipper would reason out. Mabel would just slap him in the shoulder and try to force a smile on him). They were the perfect team, and really Dipper couldn’t think of a better duo.

Well, not yet at least. They both had Soulmates and the thought that there was someone more fitting to be with each other was a hit on Dipper’s pride as the ‘Best Baby Brother In The World’. Sue him. He loved his sister and would damn the world for her.

For being rather ecstatic about the move to Gravity Falls, Mabel had rather different reasons for looking forward to it. Ever since hearing about the place, she had always been so insistent that her other half resided in Gravity Falls. This, including family tradition, had been the reason why their parents, after _much_ consideration, gave their approval to let them move out before college. Mabel was very persuasive.

Dipper didn’t mind. As long as his sister was happy, he was fine. 

~~~

It was in the car ride to Gravity where Dipper felt a chill run down his spine. The sensation had distracted him from whatever he was watching on his phone and caused him to glance at the sight outside the car’s windows. 

There was nothing that had caused alarm, Dipper noticed. His rationality had drowned out the feeling of unease in his chest.

The feeling had been brief, but it was strong enough to rouse himself into a defensive position while sitting. Magic had never been so willing to bend at his beck and call, and admittedly it took much effort to calm the Magic at the tips of his fingers.

Thankfully, but oddly enough, it was gone as fast as it had appeared.

Originally, Dipper intended to look more into it. He was about to ask Mabel and his parents, but the moment he opened his lips, he had already forgotten what he was about to say. It was confusing, because this doesn’t happen often with Dipper’s well practiced mind, but he decides to let it slide. Surely if he had forgotten it so easily, it wouldn’t have mattered much anyway.

His mind wandered to the Shack that he’s always heard of. Grunkle Ford would tell him tales about his brother’s greatest scams, and Grunkle Stan would debunk it by saying it wasn’t a scam and that it was merely a business opportunity.

Dipper believes it’s a scam.

Unfortunately, Grunkle Ford won’t be there to greet them when they arrive. The way Ford told them why he won’t be around was rather ominous, but so is most of his other explanations so no one thought much of it. Not only that, but he rarely ever got into details about his little escapades

Mabel suspects that he’s headed to find Atlantis. Dipper doesn’t bother asking anything else about her intel.

He looks out into the distance, watching all the trees as the car speeds through the road. On some occasions he would get startled when a pair of glowing eyes would flicker now and then in the forest, but he tries to remember not to worry too much. After all, his Grunkles had told them that they would be the safest in Gravity falls since it was the clearest in miasma. No creatures would get corrupted, so nothing dangerous would be attacking them.

“Whatcha thinking of Dip Dop?” Mabel asked, pulling him out of his train of thought. An unnoticed tension disappeared and gone into the back of his mind at the sight of Mabel who normally brings a smile to his face. Mabel was bent in an unnatural angle, poking at his cheek with a grin. 

He looked at his sister who looked really weird without her braces. She’d gotten them removed a month ago since her teeth were now aligned. Still, it felt weird to see her without them. “My room.” Dipper lied, which brought a smile to Mabel’s face.

“Chill, Bro-bro.” Mabel said with a smile. “I’m sure Grunkle Ford fixed it up for us before he left for his secret Atlantis Mission. Besides, you get the Attic while I get the one closer to the kitchen! Win-win!” 

Dipper wasn’t really sure if she was telling the truth about where Ford was, but he decided not to question nor believe it. Something like that was honestly not beyond him. “I hope so. I really just want to sleep when we get there.” He sighed. It was a tiring day of staying in the car. The family oracle-- Mabel, told them that it was better to travel by night, because by day the traffic on the way to Gravity Falls, Oregon was going to be _torture_. It was unsafe to travel by night, but if Mabel read that it was better to do so then they’d follow it in a heartbeat. 

He glanced at Mabel this time, only to see her eyes glued to the screen. Curiously, he peeked at the phone only to see a timer ticking down. “Don’t tell me you have a bomb set somewhere.” Dipper teased, pointing at her phone.

Mabel looked up with the cheekiest smile. “No, something better though!” The timer was only a minute down.

“Anything that you want to tell your little twin brother about?”

“You’ll see in a minute!”

Dipper only rolled his eyes and leaned to the side of the car. Mabel surely had something planned, and whatever it was, he and his parents would not expect it. They’ve been together their whole lives but Mabel remained to be as unpredictable as she was when they were kids. He was glad that never changed about her, because it was a charm that was often endearing for him.

A minute did pass, and Mabel screeched out at the top of her lungs “Stop!”

With his father’s sudden brakes, and with the help of Mabel slowing down the car with her magic, the car did stop. She nearly broke the car’s door handle in trying to swing it open, and she ran out towards the front of the car.

He eyed the phone that was left on the car seat and saw that the timer was down to zero, firework animations all over the screen.

Dipper looked up from the car seat and saw what, or who it was that Mabel was running towards. At the side of the street was a girl waiting by the streetlight. She was dressed in rather fanciful and obviously expensive clothing, but the way she held herself was unnatural in such a way that she looked so small compared to the image that her clothing was trying to exude.

The girl looked up at the sound of footsteps, and was seemingly overwhelmed by the sight of a woman running at her at a rather intimidating speed. She only had a brief amount of time to prepare before Mabel had engulfed her in a hug. The impact had caused for the blonde to take a few steps backward, nearly toppling over, but Mabel’s impeccable balance had stood the both of them straight.

At first it was a bit puzzling as to what was really happening, but when it clicked, Dipper put a hand on his parents’ shoulders and stopped them before they could get out of the car to apologize to the stranger about Mabel’s sudden actions. “Let them be.” Dipper said. “She’s found her soulmate.”

It made sense how Mabel knew, since she was quite skilled in the art of Precognition. Despite her claims that it would be a dandy thing to pick up, Dipper knew full well that the reason she took up Advanced Foretelling was specifically for this moment. It would have been her favorite trick if she wasn’t so in love with surprises. For this though, Mabel let herself be impatient.

Though Dipper didn’t want to admit it, the sight was a rather adorable thing. Seeing Mabel comfort her soulmate was close to inspiring, since he’s always had such a bleak outlook on this thing. The thought of having a soulmate wasn’t all that bad to him all of a sudden.

He watched as the blonde pulled herself away from Mabel, exchanging a few words with his sister before finally smiling. She looked really vulnerable, which he had a feeling wasn’t something that she would normally display to anyone, much less a stranger. Even so, this stranger that they were talking about was Mabel, her _Soulmate_.

Mabel, that smooth woman, took off her sweater and handed it to the girl. She took it with hesitation beet red on the face. It was obvious from where he was seated that it took Mabel a fair amount of convincing before the girl put it on.

The next thing he knew, the girl who was actually named Pacifica Northwest was seated in between the twins, closer to Mabel but also keeping a fair distance. She seemed rather flustered, especially since their first meeting was something rather cheesy.

“Our Mabel is as much as a cheeseball as you are, honey.” His mother teased, poking at her husband’s cheek.

His dad, who was rather pouty, evidently tried to fight back a smile. “I am still upset that you didn’t tell me the reason you wanted us to drive at two in the morning, Mabel Pines.” He said sternly, briefly looking at the rearview mirror to eye his daughter. “Soulmate or not, our number one priority is—”

“To be safe. I know, I know dad!” Mabel rolled her eyes, leaning a bit into Pacifica who stiffened at the contact. Dipper swore that he heard the smallest squeak come from the blonde. “But what’s the point of being safe when you can’t take risks to be happy!”

His mother elbowed her husband, whose smile finally broke out. “Thatta girl!” He cheered.

The entire interaction, in case no one took notes, was the most wholesome thing he’s ever seen since last week. (He saw an adorable cat video last week. This cheeseball event can’t ever beat out that little kitten).

Mabel was now incessantly talking, asking Pacifica the most random of questions. The questions ranged from “What’s your spirit animal?” to “What’s your favorite sweater material?” Pacifica happily answered those questions, but unlike Mabel she was rather prim in expressing her excitement. Dipper didn’t speak much, since he knew from what Mabel calls ‘twin-telepathy’ that she wanted to interact with her soulmate more now that she finally met her. He only contributed to the conversation when he was involved with the topic, and also when he wanted to embarrass his twin.

Dipper could tell by a mile away that Pacifica wasn’t born in the same type of family as Dipper. She looked formal, proper. Her etiquette was impeccable and even the way she sat screamed ‘Rich’. She had the poise of royalty, he thought. Mabel didn’t seem to mind though, because she was the same for everyone. Hierarchy be damned, no one needed a caste system anyway

“What brings you to Gravity Falls, Mabel?” Pacifica asked, tilting her head. She’d just been told that they had come from Piedmont, California and had been almost at the end of their roadtrip. 

And shamelessly Mabel had answered: “You.”

Dipper had never seen a girl blush so hard before. “O-Oh” She stuttered, flustered by the lack of hesitance in Mabel’s answer. Dipper chuckled under his breath-- she was about to become a victim of Mabel’s undying, unconditional and unstoppable love. There was no stopping it. It was coming.

Soon enough, with Pacifica’s instructions, they came to a stop in front of a rather huge plot of land where a bloody _mansion_ was sitting at. Dipper couldn’t help an impressed whistle from coming out of his lips as he appreciated the architecture of the place. He knew Pacifica was rich, but that didn’t help at all with the suddenness of the fact that his sister was paired with someone so well-off.

They waved each other goodbye before the car took off.

Dipper looked at his sister, wondering what was going on in that head of hers. “So…” He was about to initiate a conversation. Dipper rarely does this, but this was a very valid topic. 

Before he could even utter a single word, Mabel had been a squealing, excited mess. “ _OhmygodohmygodohmygodoHMYGOD!_ ” Dipper didn’t really know how excited she was, really. “It’s so beautiful!” She clutched her hand, looking at the clear design of her palm. She showed it to Dipper, who saw a bright rainbow star that looked like it changed color depending on the angle. Before he could even utter a comment she pulled it back for her to see for herself. “She’s so beautiful Dipper! Dad, is that how you felt when you met mom!” Not really, Dipper thought. They weren’t really soulmates so the feeling wasn’t as prominent-- close enough, but most likely not.

Still, the two adults looked at Mabel through the rearview mirror with a fond smile. “Of course, sweetie.” His mom answered. “In fact, I still get that feeling every day.” She said rather shamelessly.

His dad had become a blushing, flustered mess by the last word. “Oh shut up.” He said rather bashfully. It was adorable, Dipper thought.

The ride continued, with Mabel practically dying out of glee and an overwhelming feeling of love, and his parents shamelessly flirting with each other. Dipper thought that he’d miss this, especially since he won’t be seeing the two adults for a while.

Even so, he’s still looking forward to his new life in Gravity Falls. In fact, it started off great with Mabel’s sudden revelation of her plans. She may be somewhat whack, but she was still his sister-- which means as much as she was lovingly weird, she was also nearly as clever as himself. He prides himself in being a _great_ tutor.

“We’re here, kids.” Dipper’s dad declared, and almost immediately Dipper got out of the car to stretch his legs. Dipper’s father had made sure to bring out all of the luggage. “There we go.” He muttered under his breath. Dipper knew the routine. “Okay kids, be good. Learn well. Know boundaries-” He eyes Mabel. “And enjoy. Don’t forget to call, alright?” The two of them gave Mabel and Dipper a huge hug, before pulling away. 

“We’re going to go now, okay? You know how… uncomfortable you dad is when he sees your Grunkle Stan.” His mother whispered to Dipper, who fully understood. He didn’t know a lot but he did know that his dad disliked Stanley a lot. 

The two adults were now in the car, a sad but accepting smile on their faces. It took a few seconds before the car started up again, and they drove off.

Before Dipper could even get his bearings, Mabel turned around, took a deep breath, and called into the shack. “GRUNKLE STAN!” Mabel shouted, which caused a light to suddenly open. It took a bit of a while until an old man in good shape (considering how old he was) came out of the shack’s front doors wearing his signature hat, a tank top that did nearly nothing to cover his hairy body, and boxers.

Dipper smiled awkwardly at the man; and on the bright side he didn’t have to do much of the greeting because Mabel had rushed ahead of him to pull the old man into a deathgrip that she calls a hug.

Stan said something along the lines of “Oh my back!” as Dipper attempted to lift his and Mabel’s luggage with some magic, waves of blue faintly wrapping themselves around their things, and lifting it from the ground set to follow after Mabel.

He took a big breath, breathing in the smell of an old shack and the forest. He turned around to the dark woods that was so close to the shack and smiled without him even realizing it. The feeling that he’d put deep into the back of his mind seemed to overwhelm his senses, bringing him an irrational joy. Dipper didn’t quite understand where it came from, but thought that it came from his gladness that he was here where he always dreamed to be. 

As much as he’d love that to be the truth, and as close this may have been to it-- this really wasn’t the case.


	2. Unpleasant Discoveries

_Lbblrcw ifg'n naw xhwrr bm vc l Woml Ohhq._

When only a glimpse of daylight passed above the horizon, Dipper woke up. Looking through the window, Dipper thought that a lot of things about Gravity Falls were nice. It’s only the first morning since he’s been here, yet already he could easily say that he’s loving it. The fresh air, the wind that wasn’t suffocating him with the usual Miasma of being in the middle of a populated city.

Last night, after they’d arrived, he hadn’t bothered to unpack. The reason why he woke up early was to do exactly that. It was now his job to make this room his own, now that Grunkle Ford apparently moved into the basement, where his studies usually partake in.

It was a fairly nice room, with not much clutter. It didn’t seem like it was often used, since Grunkle Stan _did_ tell him that Ford usually would pass out on the couch next to Stan since it was closer to the study. Stan would say that it was a bother, but anyone and their mothers could see how fond the twins were with each other. Who wouldn’t be, when they’ve lived with each other for the longest time in their lives.

Actually seeing the room now with a less drowsy sense of vision, Ford must have cleaned up a fair bit before leaving, which was lucky on Dipper’s part since cleaning was never a priority in the face of… whatever it was he was concerned with really.

By the first few hours, Dipper was already quite productive. He’d organized his items and put up an acceptable wardrobe by now. Next he was going to move the bed next to the window, since Dipper would prefer it like that.

He waved his hands, faint tendrils of cyan extended to the bed, silently lifting it up and moving into another location. Once it landed, Dipper noticed that the bed was slightly rocking, as if its legs were uneven. “Huh, it wasn’t rocky when I slept on it.” He commented to himself, looking down at the fourth leg of the bed.

Indeed, one of them had been longer than the rest. It was curious, so he looked back at where the bed originally was. At the spot where that specific leg had originally been, Dipper saw a hole in one of the floors. He assumed that the hole fit perfectly from the bed, so he went to inspect it.

There was nothing out of the ordinary, save for the fact that it was a rather peculiarly placed hole. Dipper tried to pull at the plank, inserting his finger inside the little hole and pulling.

Lo and behold, underneath the plank was a small crevice, which was small enough to fit a few books. Good on his nagging sense of curiosity, Dipper saw only one book occupying the space. Since Dipper was a curious little thing, he did not hesitate at all at the act of taking the book out of the crevice and placing it on his bed. He figured that having a bed that was a little rocky would be fine.

He looked at the cover of the book and realized that it must have been Ford’s journal, since the cover had a hand with six fingers on the front. At where the palm was supposed to be, Dipper saw a number one written in black. He opened the book to a random page.

His eyes scanned through the few pages he coin-flipped through, until he came to a stop at a specific page that had been dirtied with blood stains. The top left corner of the page where the name of the cryptid or whatever odd thing Ford was researching on was blacked out, as if Ford wanted to erase it. Dipper wanted to shrug it off, but something about it was incredibly eerie.

The door swung open, revealing Grunkle Stan who seemed to look disgruntled. Without much of a word, he stole the journal from Dipper and shut it with a loud snap. “Don’t look at Ford’s little diary, kid.” Stan warned, seemingly uncaring. Even so, the cold sweat that Dipper could see from where he was told him that this wasn’t something he was supposed to see.

“It’s a journal.” Dipper corrected.

“Whatever.” Is all Grunkle Stan said before turning his back to leave. “Work starts next week for you two. You’re not staying free under my roof kid.” He said nonchalantly, ignoring Dipper’s complaints of child-labor and how work was illegal for someone under eighteen. “Tell that to Wendy, kid!” Is all Stan yelled back, before muttering about ‘Wizards’ and how they’re so smart but so stupid.

Stanley Pines, despite the comments by his family, had wanted nothing to do with magic. He was the only one in many decades not to practice magic, which makes him the only Nil in the family.

Nils are those who aren’t at all involved with magic. They live a normal, unbothered life and are more concerned with science or their personal community rather than the big picture of Magic and Miasma alike.

Right after Stanley left the room, Mabel swung the door open. “Breakfast!” She declared.

“Alright, kids.” Grunkle Stan was in the kitchen first thing in the morning, cooking pancakes (at least something close to it). They both knew that he wasn’t much of a morning person, but maybe it was because he needed to wake up ahead of them to make sure that they didn’t get into too much trouble on their first day. Besides, Stan wasn’t able to stay awake long enough last night to warn them about the dangers of Gravity Falls-- if there were any, that is. “I’m going to give it to you straight. Do whatever you want here until Ford comes back to tutor you both or something.” Mabel responded with an excited hurray. “BUT, you both will be earning your keep here in the shack.” Stan said, where Mabel responded with a dejected sigh. “Lucky for you guys, I’m feeling lazy _and_ considerate today. The Shack won’t open today, so you start working tomorrow.”

Mabel did most of the thanking, hugging, and hurrahs for the both of them. 

“Grunkle Stan, do you think I can go out to the woods today?” Dipper asked. While he was old enough to be responsible for himself, this was certainly something that needed Grunkle Stan’s approval. This boy was going into territory that he has never been in before and it was surely going to bring trouble if he did the wrong thing _without_ Stanley’s knowledge. 

And if he knew one thing from his and Grunkle Ford’s interactions, he was free to cause chaos as long as it was within Stanley’s knowledge. 

Stan looked at him as if his question did not make sense at all. “What part of ‘Do whatever you want’ do you not understand kid?” He pointed with a spatula. “Go crazy. If you get in trouble with the police, call me and I’ll bail you out with my car.” There was a grin on his face, as if he was recalling something from his youth.

Dipper had a sneaking suspicion that Stanley had a rather different definition of ‘bailing out’, so took a mental note not to stir trouble with the authorities like Stanley usually does.

Dipper has got to say that despite Stanley’s years of experience, he would _gladly_ cook for them soon. When he brought that up(of course with hesitation because he might break the old man’s heart on his first day here), Stanley didn’t seem to care. Rather, he felt rather relieved.

Maybe he was sick of his own cooking too. It was good that there was already a mutual understanding between the two males. 

Over the table, Mabel had constantly repeated all over again the details of how she met her soulmate to Stan. As expected, he didn’t express the slightest bit of excitement about it because it had nothing to do with the following:

  1. Money
  2. Violence
  3. Crime



Though he did started listening when Mabel had implied that Pacifica was bloody loaded. He rolled his eyes, of course. Pacifica’s money was basically Mabel’s money, and Mabel’s money was practically Stanley’s to spend since she was pretty generous. Typical Stan, Dipper thought.

“Mabel, make _bloody sure_ that you set your wedding somewhere in Europe, _and_ invite all your family members, _and_ pay for the ticket. Understood? Any less and I’m not letting you marry her.” Stan had said, which cause Mabel to blush beet red. 

“Marriage!” Mabel gasped, as if she’s been struck with a crucial realization. Her face was heating up at the prospect of it, as if that was the highlight of what Stanley said.

“Yes, Mabel. _Marriage_.” Dipper repeated for her. Maybe the severity of the entire soulmate ordeal was all finally sinking into her, and that this wasn’t a mere fling that she could just break, block on Fatesbook and Runestagram, and ghost (though the last is possible, under a different context). “Do you understand how severe-“

“Of course it’s severe!” Mabel screeched. “Oh my stars I haven’t designed the wedding dress!”

Dipper eyed Stanley, who seemed to have regrets about his words. _‘You did this.’_ Dipper made sure he comprehended the look he was sending. _‘This isn’t my problem’_

 _‘Your twin.’_ Stanley won the argument.

“Mabel, you’re not getting married soon.” Dipper pointed out.

She looked at him like what he said was the most ridiculous thing she’s ever heard. “Says who? I marry who I want when I want, and right I want to marry my Soulmate so hard that I feel like I can crush the whole world!”

“I’m out!” Dipper raised his hands. “How about you ask Stanley, he seems to know way more about the Northwests since he’s been here long.” He clapped his hand at his Grunkle’s shoulder, causing the old man to groan about his old joints.

His eyes seemed to sparkle, though, when the name sunk in. “ _Northwest_?” He asked, repeating the name. “You were talking about Pacifica Northwest!” Stanley exclaimed, pointing at his grandniece.

Mabel rolled her eyes. “Of course! Who else has such a divine name-?”

“Oi, kid, make sure this works out. I’ll help you. I was a heartthrob in my prime.” And with that, Dipper attempted to leave the room to avoid of all the details he did not want to know about Stanley’s exes.

“Nope!” Mabel exclaimed, crossing her arms to signal an ‘X’. “Not today, Grunkle Stan! I’m going with my bro out on an adventure!” She slung an arm over Dipper’s shoulder, bringing him close to her. “Let us go and explore my little brother!” She exclaimed.

Dipper could only roll his eyes before leading the way out of the house. He was about to get out through the back door before he found himself getting pulled back into the house “Ah! Before you go,” She pulled out a hat from her sling bag and put it on him. “Your hair’s a mess and I’ll be damned if you go out with your hair like that!” She exclaimed. Mabel brought out her own hair accessory and clipped it onto her hair. “Pine Twins!” She squealed.

“Where did you get this?”

“I nabbed it off the giftshop—It’s coming off our paycheck but it’s fine!” Mabel brought out something else from her bag. “Also got this! Stan said I could get it free since no one bought it!” Dipper couldn’t say that he didn’t expect to see a grappling hook emerge from her bag, but he couldn’t really say he did expect it either.

Yes, that’s Mabel for you.

While Dipper was already out, Mabel was back inside recharging some of her runes with her own magic. It was so that she’s able to maintain the state of her room while they were gone. Normally other Mages don’t bother to do that, but since Mabel was basically a fountain of Magic she did small things like those.

Besides, now that they were in a place that didn’t have such a surplus of Miasma, Mabel won’t have to restrain her own magical abilities.

They were planning on taking an adventure in the infamous Gravity Falls forest. Dipper had always wanted to go to this forest ever since Ford had told him its tales. It was a beautiful thing to imagine, especially with the way he would tell Dipper of all the creatures that he was able to encounter and tame.

Mabel was not only supportive of Dipper’s fascination with these creatures. She was also pretty excited about it. She wanted to find something worthwhile, like shiny magical stones that the journal promised, or a glimpse of some fairies. That would probably serve as a pretty nice inspiration for her, even though they were brutal little things.

Dipper had told her more than once that fairies weren’t really kind, though despite that she was still rather insistent in looking for them (but she did promise not to meddle when it came to them). They were pretty gruesome things, and they were very likely to attempt to kidnap her so she becomes victim to a switcheroo Changeling incident.

Ford once had to kill a Changeling once-- it wasn’t a pretty sight for the parents.

The alternative were Barf Fairies, and he honestly doubted that Mabel (despite her love for strange things) would be willing to even glance at that thing without vomiting as well herself. Dipper _was not_ up to seeing that, so he doesn’t mention it at all to his twin sister.

Regardless, Dipper was _ecstatic_. He was going to take risks. He was going out, have fun, probably endanger himself more than once-- but that’s okay! Dipper’s got Mabel, and Mabel’s got Dipper.

Well, at least Dipper planned so because out of nowhere he was greeted with a shadow looming at the ground he was staring at right beside his shoes. He looked up to see who it was that bothered his train of thought.

In front of him was Pacifica. She didn’t look at all like she did last night. Her face was clean of heavy make-up and was now replaced with a simple tint on her cheeks and lips. There was a light eyeshadow on her eyes, as if she was trying to be perceived as light as day and right for Mabel. She wore designer brand clothes that seemed to match perfectly with the sweater that was tied to her neck. 

“Hello, uh,” She doesn’t remember him. It had only been last night since they’ve met, and he was absolutely certain that Mabel had spoken about him once or twice in that car, yet she was right in front of him, not a clue about who he was and why he looked a lot like her soulmate. Dipper had an idea that he wouldn’t go well with her, but since she was Mabel’s soulmate, he wouldn’t complain. Small sacrifices, he thought.

“It’s Dipper.” He wasn’t even hoping that she’d remember.

He heard footsteps go down the stairs, sounding like a chariot was rampaging down a wooden floor. Dipper knew without a doubt that it was Mabel. “Alright Dip-Dop, I’m-!” The girl was cut off by the sight of a rather well-dressed Pacifica Northwest. “Oh my stars it’s _Pacifica!_ ” Mabel squealed and rushed towards the blonde to meet her.

“Sup.” She greeted coolly. “Are you free? I know it may be sudden, but I want to get to know you more.” Pacifica said, pretending not to notice Dipper. It seemed like she knew that Dipper and Mabel were planning to head out the moment she arrived, but she doesn’t really look like the type to cancel her plans.

Mabel was about to speak, but she cut herself off. She looked at her brother, as if she needed time to think, but before she could even say anything Dipper had already beat her to it. “Go ahead Mabes.” He grinned, patting her on the back. “It’s not everyday that you’re so whipped.” This prompted a harsh slap on the shoulder from Mabel, and a flustered look on her face.

 _Worth it_ , he thought as he winced at his probably bruised shoulder.

Since he was done tying his shoes ages ago, Dipper walked ahead. “See you two lovebirds soon~!” He said teasingly.

He was stopped by Mabel, who held him by the wrist. “Ah! I’m not letting you go so easy lil’ bro bro!” She pulled out a pink marker, which told Dipper exactly what she was going to do. Mabel rolled up his sleeves and started to write on his shoulder. It was uncomfortable since Pacifica was watching.

“Mabel—”

“Quiet! I am alpha twin!” That did not help with silencing Dipper, and Mabel knew that. She sighed. “I know you can defend yourself but the power of two is always greater than one.” Mabel hummed. “You’d be going on an adventure without me, and as much as _I_ hate saying it but it’s unsafe. ‘The stronger your aura is, the less attracted the creatures are to you’.” She quoted Ford. “That’s why animals don’t normally approach groups of people.” His twin leaned away from his hand, admiring her rune before letting go of her little twin.

He thought about what she said, and surely he would have done the same for her. Dipper loves his sister and he would risk anything of his when it came to her safety, so he suck it up as a grown man and only smiled at his sister.

As Mabel charged up the rune she set on his shoulder, Dipper looked at Pacifica and saw that she was in awe. It was like she hadn’t seen anything semblant to this power at such a young age. He raised a brow, how? Sorcerers get paired with other Sorcerers, and if Pacifica was one then she’d naturally be talented at this type of thing. Dipper thought it was odd, but he let it slide. Maybe Mabel really was just talented.

“Done?”

“Yup!” Mabel grinned. “Stay safe bro-bro!”

With that, Dipper left the Shack and head into the forest.

~~~

Navigation? Check. A surplus of mana left? Check. Clear of Miasma? Check. His little adventure in the forest was going great so far, and without a doubt Dipper has not encountered anything close to danger the entire time that he was in this place, which was great but also against the point of being here in the first place.

It was an odd thing to wish for danger, but it was getting ridiculously boring in the forest that Grunkle Ford spoke about in his visits before. Not only that, but he didn’t have anything to go by in his little adventure other than the stories that they talk about. “I’m in a rut.” Dipper sighed, admitting that there was absolutely nothing fun going on. Maybe they were tall tales? Grunkle Ford may not seem like the type, but if you stroke his ego a bit he tends to show off a lot more.

He was about to set his navigation to home, before he heard the rustling of the forest floor get louder as if it was coming closer to him.

In alarm, Dipper turned to check what was going on.

From behind him, he saw a golden-haired man with dark roots run towards him with a pace that rivalled Mabel’s heart when she went to a ‘Several Times’ concert, panic in the single eye that could be seen. His other eye was under a bandage that was wrapped around his head, bleeding through the white.

Soon after seeing the blond running towards him, Dipper felt the need to slap himself in the past for wishing for ‘fun’ because now that he wasn’t bored, he was now in danger. Behind the stranger was a horde of other strangers, but instead of emitting Aura, they were emitting Miasma. As soon as he saw it, Dipper felt an intense amount of fear that caused his knees to lock up as soon they got closer to him.

The blond was already close when he started screaming at Dipper. “What the hell are you doing, kid? Run!” The stranger said, pulling Dipper by the wrist, dragging the boy with him away from the horde of… whatever _that_ was.

“What are those things!” Dipper yelled in question, trying to match the pace of the stranger. “Why are they chasing us!”

He only laughed, oddly sharp teeth showing through his lips. “They want my body, but too bad I got it first.” The stranger said jokingly. “Jokes on them: this body sucks ass. Not even a mana reserve. This blows!” The stranger told him. He looked at Dipper with a wide eye. “This one’s all out of juice and I can’t really cast a spell right now to burn those fuckers, so voila: run or die!”

Dipper’s eyes widened. “B-Burn them? You want to kill them!”

He rolled his eye. “It’s me or them kid, now shut up and let me think of a way to get rid of those cultists.” The stranger said. “Fuckers got my good eye too, I can’t find a decent Spring around here!” He groaned, pulling his hair as he ran.

The boy clenched his teeth and mustered up the strength to look back. Behind him were the same amount of people, only they seemed larger and darker in comparison to how they were a while ago. Their eyes were stark white, almost glowing as the woods got darker despite it being quite early in the day.

Due to his lack of focus, Dipper ended up tripping on a root, making him land flat on the forest floor. The impact and the way he landed had caused for his leg to ache alongside a few bruises on his limbs and lower body. Dipper hissed and attempted to pull himself back up before anyone got to him.

It was too late; he already saw the shadows on him.

Before Dipper could cast a spell to repel any of them, a large wave of fire moved towards the horde, burning anyone who were close to them. “Get up you idiot!” The stranger who had been ahead pulled Dipper up and pushed him ahead to run. “You fucking dimwit-- RUN UNLESS YOU WANT TO DIE!” The stranger yelled.

Right now, Dipper had quite enough of the running. As he ran, Dipper revealed his Aura to utilize it. Dipper took wisps of his own magic and molded it with his mind. In an instant, he took a stop and he put a barrier around the both of them. The stranger who had been running also took a stop before he could hit one border of the barrier Dipper set up.

The horde started to surround the barrier, and they began to bang on the surface, attempting to force their way in. Normally physical attacks won’t work on damaging the type of shield Dipper put up, but each hit that he took from these people were casting damage on his Aura that was fueling the barrier in the first place. He needed to put more effort, which meant more focus.

The man let out a sigh, then another, until it eventually turned into rambunctious laughter. “We’ve been running for so long, and all along you were a Mage! Ah this is golden!” He continued to laugh as Dipper started to sweat. “Barriers don’t work on them sweetheart, they’re Warlocks.”

Dipper felt his gut begin sink as the stranger’s words seeped into his brain.

Seriously, curse himself. He shouldn’t have wished for ‘adventure’ when it was going to get him killed!

“Hoo boy. He’s speechless. Of course. Why are Mages so quiet when they’re focused?” The stranger walked towards Dipper’s front, a grin on his lips.

“How are you so calm? We’re about to die!” Dipper screeched, his voice almost cracking due to the panic. “Help me out here! You’re a Mage too right?”

He only laughed. “Sure thing kid! If only for my meatsuit.”

For some odd reason, Dipper felt even more unsettled when his eyes were locked into the stranger’s light brown ones. It was so light that it was nearly gold. The stranger continued to stare into Dipper’s eyes, grin kept in place while he seemed to have been studying him. “Hmm, you would do I guess. I hope you’re a promising spring.”

Without much of a warning, the man crashed his lips onto Dipper’s. Due to Dipper’s shock, the barrier wavered, but he kept his ground. The man took advantage of the loosening of Dipper’s lips due to the gasp he let out and slipped his tongue inside.

Dipper, for lack of a better word, was whipped that single, fleeting moment. He felt everywhere in his body go weak, and he even felt his own Aura fade at the suddenness of this kiss. The sudden change had caused for the barrier to shatter so easily at one of the Warlocks’ hits, and immediately after his shock came the panic. Dipper got his senses back when he noticed his, and he bit at the man’s tongue. The pain caused him to take a few steps back, blood dripping from his lips from his tongue. “What the hell man!”

He attempted to throw up another barrier, but he was out of time and out of mana.

The blond man only laughed, cupping his mouth. Blood was spilling out of his hands as he shook with laughter. With a gleeful eye, he leaned closer with a smug smile on his bloodied lips. “Sweet.” He said, before snapping his fingers.

At the snap of his fingers, waves of cyan fire had erupted from the stranger. It had burnt everyone but the two of them causing screams and groans of agony.

Dipper looked around in horror, watching as a multitude people’s lives were decimated by a single man and his flames.

“Ah! That tasted so good I think I overdid it!” The stranger said voice chipper and light as he spoke. It was like he didn’t kill more than a dozen people at once. “Really, Tad should have found a better body.” He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck.

“So! Kid! Where are you off to--?”

Dipper landed his knuckles on his cheek, feeling so much things at once that he felt the need to smack the shit out of the man who caused all of it. “What the hell was that!” Dipper questioned.

He laughed. “Woah! Pain _is_ funny!” He commented. “Hands keep your hands off the merchandise kid!” The blond man looked up, only to see the mess of emotions on the brunet in front of him. He could only sigh when he came into a realization. “Right! I forgot humans need names before kissing.” The stranger stood up and lent his hand. “Bill Cipher, kid! Nice to meet you!”

Oh Stars of all people he could have met on his first day in Gravity Falls, he met a total psychopath! “You just killed them!” Dipper exclaimed, completely ignoring the hand that was lent to him. “You killed these people!” His voice cracked, and in normal situations he might care, right now however it is the least of his concerns.

“No shit kid! How else was I supposed to keep us safe?” He tilted his head. “Those dudes were _Warlocks_ who made a deal with the shadiest Demon I’ve ever—” Bill squints his eyes. “Well this specific Demon isn’t particularly the shadiest, nor does he stand out. The prick is a weakling with a good following is all;” He corrected “but, the point stands that they were pretty much irredeemable and probably less human than you think! So by Human reasoning, their deaths are plenty acceptable in your useless sense of morality!” He said, as if that made the situation much better.

Oddly enough, though, it _did_ make it seem better.

“Right, right.” Dipper tried to rationalize it, trying to get it to sink in in a more pleasant manner. “Okay, _fuck!_ ” He failed. He’s panicking now. “Oh stars what do I say to Mabel? What about the police? Oh my stars what’s Ford going to say-!”

“Oi, kid, calm down.” Bill took the kid’s shoulders and shook him back and forth. “Calm down!”

“How am I supposed to calm down we’re with so much dead bodies right now!”

Again, he rolled his single eye and sighed. He pulled back from the kid, knowing that there was no calming him down. Instead of doing anything, Bill decided to just spare this kid’s life for contributing to the preservation of his meatsuit and walk away. Besides, Bill was a busy man and he had way more important, fun things to do.

Before he could get far, however, he felt a hand pull at his left wrist. Bill paused in his stride and turned to see what the kid wanted. He raised an eyebrow at the kid, wondering what he still wanted.

“You’re hurt.” Dipper pointed out. His eyes were stuck looking at his right arm which is what he used to cast the spell that killed the horde of Warlocks.

Fuck. Flames very rarely affected the caster, and in the occasions that it _did,_ the caster was either a Warlock or a Demon. Bill wasn’t supposed to let him know he was a Demon otherwise he was going to get hunted by the humans _again_. He didn’t need that, especially not when he _just_ got this meatsuit now.

He was only a second away from killing the kid, before he made a move. The boy examined the wound and saw his skin charred. He winced, thinking of how much pain the man was experiencing. He let his hand hover above the charred skin, and it healed. 

Healing magic was one of the first things taught in elementary-grade classes. It was the most important thing for any Magician to know about, so Dipper could say that he was pretty skilled at it by now (Mabel always ended up with tons of scratches for some reason, and she was always too lazy to do anything about it so Dipper could confidently say that he’d do well as support).

Though he was pretty confident, he was pretty fucking sure that no Mage in his generation would be able to heal a 3rd degree burn all over the arm in a flash of a light, especially since he’s been drained of mana already. Just now, that was _exactly_ what happened.

His magic seemed to be magnified now. 

How peculiar, but he gave it no thought. Right now he had to get out of here. Looking back, there was no evidence that could point back to himself since they were all likely to be charred anyway, and since the forest is so big there was no point in tracing back everyone who was in the forest.

That’s right, it only needed a bit of rational thinking to know that he won’t get in trouble, but damn it did absolutely nothing to the amount of guilt that he was harboring. The least he could do is heal the man who saved him.

Now that Dipper was closer now, he was able to see the features of the man. He had golden hair, dirtied by the forest, but it was clear to see that he blond. What is it with Gravity Falls and the blondes he keeps encountering? Not only that, but why are they considerably attractive? (yes, he admits that Pacifica is attractive, which is good because Mabel deserves only the best)

He had pale, flushed skin with freckles all over his face. His left eye is bandanged up, covered in cloth that was there to stop the bleeding. His right eye was round, almost innocent if not for the expression of the owner. From this distance, he could distinguish the color of his eyes—

His gut sank.

The color was golden, he would know after all the times Mabel had insisted that he wore more flamboyant things. The subtle glow was nearly impossible to spot, but it was there and it was evident from the short distance they had apart. Most important of all, was the slit in his eye that was the mark of a Demon.

A Demon.

Bill is a Demon.

Dipper took a step backwards, which confused Bill since he was _just_ healed by this kid. “S-Stay away!” He said as Bill stepped forward. “I’m warning you!” It was strange, but Dipper had regained a fair amount of his own strength before he was able to pull off a taunt by showing off his Aura which started to burn into Miasma. Normally this Miasma would repel others, but not Bill.

Demons like Bill thrive on that ball of Chaos they call Miasma.

Bill did not look fazed at all. No surprise to Dipper, he knew what this guy is capable of. It was truly a strange thing that he did not experience harm from the intense fire that he casted, but he didn’t want to take his chances. Dipper could die just like those Warlocks and his family would never even know. “Look here, Pinetree.” He said, looking at the hat first before looking back towards the kid. “Believe me or not, I’ve taken the tiniest bit of liking on you and it isn’t in my interest to harm you at all! You saved me twice after all, and I’m pretty much a businessman myself!”

“Shut up and stay away Demon!”

He only laughed. “Oh calm down, that is not an insult to me and you know it! It’s like calling you Human, Human!” Bill walked closer, not at all minding how Dipper seemed to switch from a defense position to one of an attack. His spells were about to turn hostile, but as long Bill had some semblance of Dipper’s mana on hand, he won’t be harmed. “Really, I’m not here to harm you at all--!”

“I said stay back!” His magic went haywire at the next step, flinging Bill to the nearest tree.

Oh, it hurt, and surely it broke a bone or two. Bill groaned. That wouldn’t do, he and Tad worked _so hard_ to find a suitable meatsuit and he will not put that work to waste no matter how shitty the body is. “Pinetree! That looks _wonderful!”_ Bill cheered. “Unfortunately, you’re targeting the wrong thing here.”

With a snap of his fingers, Bill chained Dipper to the ground. Without Dipper being able to move, Bill circled around the boy to observe every detail there was about this kid. “Oh! Now I see why you’re such a treat!” Bill declared, eyeing a mark on the back of his neck. “I have an unfinished deal with you, Warlock!”

Dipper, by all means, felt offended at the thought that this stranger thought that he was a Warlock. It invalidates all his hard work in studying magic, and all the thoughts and prayers he’s had about his Soulmate—hell, it was an insult to his Soulmate to be called a Warlock! “What the—I am a Sorcerer, _not_ a Warlock! I don’t even know how to be one!”

“Well by the look of it, kid, you’ve been doing it like you were breathing!” Bill whistled. “Sorcerer my ass—kid this right here is _my_ sign. The one and only Demon K—err, Demon Kind, Bill Cipher! It’s special to me and only me in the history of the entire world. Anything or anyone with this stamped on it is mine.

“This sign over here means that you’ve fulfilled your end of the bargain, and I’m yet to fulfill mine. As a businessman it’s a hit on my pride to leave a deal hanging, so what did you ask for kid?”

Dipper only looked up to the Demon with every bit of confusion. “What are you talking about? That’s my Soulmate mark.” He said, eyebrows furrowed as he slowly and silently worked on removing the chains Bill had on him. “I was born with a soulmark; I was born with Magic; it’s without color unless my Soulmate touches it; no one in my family has ever dealt with a creature like you; I’m a _Sorcerer_!” Dipper said rather proudly (he honestly thought that the day would ever come that he would be proud of his mark, since he was pretty chagrined with the prospect of having a Soulmate.)

“Hmm, no. That’s still definitely my mark.” Bill sighed. “So we really have no idea what your deal is?”

“I don’t have one!”

“If that’s the case, the most logical course of action is to wipe you off from existence—”

“ _What?_ ”

“But relax~! If I had really wanted to kill you, that rune drawn on your arm would have exploded my body into bits!” Bill said, pointing at Dipper’s shoulder. It was honestly a shock that it hasn’t activated yet, considering that he’s been in a lot of danger for the day and it’s not even dinner time. “It was hard to find a body like this, you know. You saved it, now you get to keep your life! Luckily for you, I value my possessions more than I do fun-” He grinned. “- _Sometimes._ ”

“What a relief.” Dipper deadpans. “Look, you tell me you don’t want to harm me so you might as well just let me go!” He insists. “I have never made a deal in my entire life, not even as an infant, so just leave it as a misunderstanding and we will never see each other again!”

Bill hummed. “Hm, alright kid, that seems fair,” Bill, despite his rather long life, had impeccable and flawless memory. He could even remember his creation, which was something. Despite all the facts presented to him, he was convinced that this Dipper kid didn’t ever make a deal with him. “But I have to clear out this Mark so I don’t have an undone deal running amok and spreading rumors about my business!” With that, Bill put a clawed finger on Dipper’s mark to seal it so they would no longer be affiliated outside the deal.

What happened was something Bill did not at all expect (and that was almost a thing that never happens)

Instead of the ink sinking into the skin and disappearing from the sight of any human forever, it burst into colors— _his_ colors. These are colors that never appear on any other mark, and not even on paper. To the human eye it would appear yellow, or golden, but to Bill it was something of the Nightmare Realm. In the middle was Bill’s single eye, staring back right at him.

Dipper, despite not being able to see what was going on from behind him, felt a jolt of power slip through his nape and into his whole body. He felt replenished complete, _powerful_.

But he was lost.

Right on time, Dipper had finished metaphorically gnawing through the chains. He had freed himself from the magic and bolted into a run away from Bill. Dipper turned his Navigation Spell on so he could find his way home and away from the chaos in the forest.

No matter how much he ran, Dipper could hear voiced out frustration of the Demon as if he was still right behind him. “This is a fucking _joke!_ ” Dipper could hear light footsteps. “Of all the times you had to appear, kid;” Out of the blue, Bill was right in front of him, holding Dipper tightly by his face. His single eye was glowing red, the slits darkening into a void that made Dipper fear for his life more than ever. “A bit late for this stunt, Gaea.” He said, none of the chipper tone in his voice. It was monotonous, still, but it was more frightening.

Dipper felt Mabel’s rune get triggered, but before it could do anything, Bill had already ripped off the charge. It didn’t take much to know that Bill seemed to want to kill Dipper. His Soul mark was burning. This Demon is infuriated.

Despite all the evident rage in his eyes, and the iron grip Bill had on Dipper, the face of the Demon was anything but infuriated. He looked at Dipper with the most innocent smile, without a single hint of malice. “So, kid. You said something about _Soulmates_?”


End file.
